Selecting device



Feb. 5, 1946. D. G. NELSON 2,394,200

' SELECTING DEVICE Filed May 20 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

HTTUR/VEY Feb, 5, 1946. D. G. NELSON 2,394,200

SELECTING DEVI CE Filed May 20, 194; 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LQ' UJJLHIIIHIIIII) If BIHIIIHHII I nmmu i-Hl ll ii IN VEN TOR.

iami! 6 fi e/$011 HTTOENEY Patented Feb. 5, 1946 SELECTING DEVICE David Gould Nelson, New Kensington, Pa., as-

signor to Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 20, 1943, Serial No. 487,825

Claims.

This invention relates to selecting mechanisms of the type designed to separately remove articles or blanks from a mass of the same and to deliver the selected item to a discharge point or other station wher it is removed for transfer to a succeeding operation. Such mechanisms are usually embodied in hoppers designed to receive a mass of articles or blanks, such as tubular blanks, and to dispose such mass in the path of a selecting mechanism generally taking the form of a ring or other surface rotating about an axis in contact with said mass. On the surface of thisring are provided selectors, usually in the form of pins, positioned to incline in the direction of rotation.

The pins preferably lie in a plane of travel at right angles to the axis of rotation. As the pins travel through the unoriented mass of articles or blanks, any article which presents an open end or similar receiving aperture or cavity to a pin is seated thereon and thus carried out of the mass upon further rotation of the ring. In the devices of this character previously employed, difficulties have been encountered where the articles have jammed or otherwise forcibly seated themselves between adjacent selector pins or have canted on adjacent pins and jammed against each other so as to not be deliverable from the pin under normal operating conditions or, if deliverable, so as not to be deliverable in the position desired. This occasional jamming of the articles between or on the adjacent pins necessitates frequent interruption of the operation of the selecting device in' order to clear the jammed article.

It is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved selecting mechanism of the type described which will overcome the jamming difficulties above mentioned. A further object of the invention is to provide a selecting mechanism which will positively select blanks or articles from a mass thereof only at the predetermined positions provided on such mechanism for receiving the blanks and at no other position. Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description of a hopper device including a selecting mechanism embodying the invention in a preferred form. Such a device is illustrated in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view taken through the hopper device in a vertical plane adjacent the selecting mechanism with portions of that mechanism shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken through the hopper at the line 2-2 indicated on Fig.1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the selecting mechanism shown in section in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals designate like parts, the hopper includes an article receiving portion I (only partially shown) on one wall of which is provided a bearing 2. Afiixed to this wall is an extension 3. Hopper end portion 4 is fixed in the position shown by suitable means attached to the article receiving portion I. A shaft 5, adapted to be driven by a motor or other suitable means, is rotatably mounted in the bearing 2 and is fixed through lug 6 and set screw 1 to the rotatable portion of the hopper which consists of two housings 8 assembled, as shown, to hold therebetween a selector ring 9, the assembly being maintained by bolts ID. The inner edges of the hopper end A and of the extension 3 are adapted to contact the outer edges of the housing 8 during rotation thereof and to form with said housings a chamber. An opening II connects the receivingportion I with this chamber and is adapted to be completely or partially closed by gate l2, which gate may be moved up or down as desired by handle [3. Knob I4 is adjustably mounted on said handle through the screw threads shown and is adapted to rest on bracket I5 when so adjusted to hold the gate I2 in the desired position. A device, such as the rotatably mounted finger l6, may be positioned in article receiving portion l adjacent opening II to facilitate movement of articles therethrough. This finger moves into the opening as the knob I! is turned and breaks up any collection of articles which may have momentarily closed such opening.

A series of recesses or cavities l8 are provided in the selector ring 9 and open in the inner, or axle-facing, surface l9 thereof. Mounted in each of these cavities is a selector'pin 2D with its end extending to a point above i. e., beyond said inner surface. The pins and cavities are preferably inclined, as shown, in the direction of rotation (indicated by the arrow on Fig. 1) of the selector ring so that articles selected by the pins will be retained on the pin, and in the cavity, during at least a portion of the rotation of the ring. At a point of the rotation of selector ring 9, preferably remote from the point where selection of the articles occurs, a delivery station is provided where the articles 2| are removed, or allowed to fall by gravity, from the pins into a receiving device such as the tube 22, said tube aifording means by which the articles may be delivered to any desired place for further operation. In order to prevent premature retric WlthrSlflCtOl ringifl :and end portions 2.4 and 25 which *turn inwardly therefrom. 'This guide plate is located at a point, as shown, where the rotation of the ring tends to cant the pins car-- ried thereby to the horizontal and below. FIB-he guide plate is mounted for limited movement around axial pin 26 on guide bracket 21,. 'its-;movement on said axial pin being limited Joy pin 1-28 positioned on the end of the guide bracket and extending through the cutaway :portion of col-- lar 29. A spring 39 surrounds the axle of the bracket 21 with one end 3| affixed to the bra'cket and the \other end 31 :thereof attached to :guide plate 23 .so that the spring will resist-downward movement of the guide plate .and .tend to ,return .it to a position where its central ,portion .is con-- centric with .ring .9. Mounted Ion end portion 24:.of thegguide plate isra flexible finger 3.3... The =opposite end :25 f .the guide plate carries the tube '22 by :means'of a bracket 34.

The-recesses 3| 8 .in .theselector rin ,9..may take the form of holes drilled :entirely through the zringas=here shown,in which case the pin 20 may ,be provided at :one end with enlarged end ,35 .so sized as .to iorm apress fitwith the walls of the .recess and to athus close the outer end .of the recess .as well :asto :iix the pin vin proper position therein. .It willbeapparent that thisflmethod of {construction has certain advantages since the pins may :be readily removedfrom the recess for meplacement. However, :the recess :or -,cavity 4-18 may extend gpartially [through the ring and pins Y 'th'ewarticleiso-allowsandother conditions warrant.

'iEorainstance, if article}! is'a tube-open :at :both i zends, thecavities is :may be soshapedmndsized as to receive the entire tube as it is selected -and guided thereinto by the pin 72.0. The location and size of theipin =is-.so;predetermirred, with referrediformnthe largerp'ortionof the i'length of -:the rpiniis within the cavity. Enough of 'the pin FShOuld extend iabove .gring surface 139 to provide a portion "upon which an :article from the :mass contained in the hopper chamber :can bezcaught :and guided 'intothe cavity. :If the article to'be reelected :is, for example, everyifiat, :;as in :the :case LQf :a washer, :the cavity may ,be yery shallow, :in which case the izpoiztion pi the pin within the cavity may be shorter than the portion extending above the ring surface l9.

In operation the articles or blanks 2|, having been admitted from the article receiving portion of the hopper to the hopper chamber through the opening ll, tumble in a mass in the bottom of the chamber as the rotatable hopper portion, formed of the housings 8 and the selector ring 9, iis-rotatedby'ss'haft 5. The .selectingtring 9 thus travels in contact with the mass of tumbling blanks through a portion of its rotation and presents the ends of pins 20 to said mass, select- "ingirom time to time such blanks as present to the pins an opening through which a pin may pass; "Thebl-ariksoselected by the pin slips over pin and into-lithe cavity la in the position 'shown'in Figs. 1 and 3. The selector ring, rotatiingiolockwisednow moves the pin and cavity-surroundedblank upwardly. As further rotation of "thering "9 tends to cant the pins toward an angle :below the horizontal, theends of the blanks are contacted, and :are :held upon the pin and in the cavity, first by the flexible finger ,33 'andlater by the central portion of ,the guide plate :23 and thus held-against the actionzof :gravity until they have travelled @tothe endr25 of-r-the guide plate-at which timethey-Jose contact therewith and ,fall by gravity into tube 22.

. It will be .noted that since a separate cavity .-is provided :for each article and since the article :selected by .a pin .is received within .saidcavity rand there separately maintained, jamming between articles held :on adjacent pins is obviated. .'-It will be further noted that Jamming .of the article between adjacent pins may be;eliminated by limiting the "distance rto which the end of the pins-extend from .thercavities above-the inner suriace .-l9 of the ring :9. By the -useof .this invention, whether embodied in the ;m.echanism :above rdescribed oninsimilar mechanisms, :it is possible to select an 'article iiromia mass of articles .and tosseparately seatitheesamedn the selecting device and :to thereby preventcanting of the articleson the pins andrsubsequentljamming thereof, as well .as preventing jamming :of articles :between adj acent pins.

It will be ap arent ":iEQm .the foregoing descriptionrthatthe inventionhereimdescribed andhere- .after claimed may :be embodied in forms other than those specifically shown and described, and that the construction of the various parts :may .be widely varied without departing from the in! .vention as :defined the appended claims.

Having thus described my ,inventionpwhat I claimis:

1. pin :a mechanism for separately selecting articles from a ,mass thereof, a .ring :mounted 'to .rotate :about an :axis, =article receiving recesses separately disposed at predeterminedintervals in the axis-facing surface of said ring, anda selecitor pin mounted in each of said recesses and extending therefrom to ;a :point beyond said surface of the :ring.

In :a mechanism :for separately selecting articles :fromgamass lthGl'fiOf, {a ring mounted to m- .tate about-an :axis, article {receiving recesses sepzarately disposed at predetermined intervals in the axis-facing vsuriiace 10f said ring, and :a selector :pin mounted :in each 'of :said recesses and extending therefromto a point just :beyond said -;surface :of the :ring.

3. In a hopper, a portion adapted to contain :amass of articlcs and :torrotate about a fixed axis, selector-pins mountedat predetermine i tfl'fllals on the inner periphery of said portion:and.adapted to contact and select articles from said mass, each such pin being partially and separately seated in a cavity in said inner periphery, said cavity being shaped and sized to receive and surround at least a portion of an article selected from said mass by said pin.

4. In an article selecting mechanism, a rotatable portion the inner surface of which is adapted to contact a mass of articles, said inner surface being provided with a plurality of separate cavities each shaped and sized to admit entry thereto of an article, and a selecting pin centrally mounted in each of said cavities and partially extending therefrom to a point beyond said inner surface.

v article selected by said pin into said cavity.

DAVID GOULD NELSON. 

